Op-ed: 14 Reasons That Made 2011 Great for Trans People

BY Advocate Contributors

December 28 2011 8:10 PM ET

4. Trans Health Policy Improves

Health policy advances were very frequent this year. The medical profession continued to come around on trans health with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issuing a clear policy statement about proper treatment for trans people. To reach even more physicians, the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health published the first-ever protocols for transgender primary care. And several legal cases solidified trans people's legal rights to healthcare while incarcerated. Maybe most importantly, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began a process to develop methods to include trans people in future federal health surveys, paving the way for a better understanding of health disparities we face and possible solutions to these disparities.